The present invention relates to a milk frothing device with a steam pipe that extends through a base member and has at its end a nozzle with a jet orifice and with a container including a bottom that can be placed underneath the nozzle.
Milk frothing devices of this type represent the state of the art in up-to-date espresso-cappuccino makers and are used to froth up milk that was filled into a container.
In coffee or espresso makers with a spout arrangement from which the coffee brew is discharged, vertically adjustable spout arrangements or cup lifts have already become known which permit adjusting the distance in height between a spout member of the spout arrangement and a container in order to adapt to differently high drip containers, such as espresso cups (see e.g. DE 298 10 291 U1). A vertically adjustable coffee outlet of such a type will not optimize the preparation of coffee per se, but only reduce the splashes which may be caused in the event of a too great drop height of the coffee which is discharged into the drip container and, especially, the espresso cup.
An object of the present invention is to provide a generic milk frothing device which renders it possible to easily immerse the nozzle into a container filled with milk, on the one hand. Another objective is that the container need not be held in the hand of a user during the frothing operation, that means, while hot steam is forced through the milk. In addition, a particularly good frothing result shall be achieved in a shortest possible time.